


Delilah Anne

by kynzz



Series: A Part of the Soul [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Multi, all other characters are just mentioned, it's really just Harry and Louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2014-06-19
Packaged: 2018-02-05 08:31:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1811977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kynzz/pseuds/kynzz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry and Louis had the perfect life. <br/>They were married and settled in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, near Harry's mother and sister. Louis was a successful entrepreneur, and Harry was a stay-at-home-dad. Their daughter Delilah had just turned 5, and was in kindergarten at the local primary school. She was biologically Louis', and had inherited his blue eyes, and energetic persona. She was outgoing, bubbly, and far from shy. <br/>Harry and Louis never imagined a life without her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Delilah Anne

**Author's Note:**

> There will be a sequel sometime in the future focusing on Finn, and possibly other children.
> 
> Also, please let me know if you found any mistakes or enjoyed my writing because I have a few other fics that I can post.

Harry and Louis had the perfect life. 

They were married and settled in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, near Harry's mother and sister. Louis was a successful entrepreneur, and Harry was a stay-at-home-dad. Their daughter Delilah had just turned 5, and was in kindergarten at the local primary school. She was biologically Louis', and had inherited his blue eyes, and energetic persona. She was outgoing, bubbly, and far from shy. Finn was almost 3, and also Louis', but he seemed to take Harry's calmer demeanor. He had a wild obsession with trains and was fascinated by all types of electronic devices.  
Harry had been called by the school nurse, saying that Delilah had a fever. He dressed Finn and quickly drove to the school and approached the front desk.

"Uh, hello. I'm Harry Tomlinson, and I just got a call from the nurse about my daughter Delilah-"

"Daddy!" she called, waving to him. She was sitting on a little blue cot in the nurse's room.

"Hi, Peanut." he smiled, waving back to her.

"You can go back and talk to the nurse." the older woman at the desk said.

Harry met talked to the nurse who said that Delilah was complaining of a tummy ache, so her teacher, Ms. Lloyd, sent her up to the office.

"I guess we're going home, then." Harry said, pulling Delilah next to Finn on his lap. 

"Sorry, Daddy." she whispered.

"It's okay, Peanut. Do you feel like you're gonna be sick?"

"No, I'm just tired."

Harry nodded and carried them both out to the car. He made her soup and tea and put on a movie. She fell asleep quickly, and stayed asleep until Louis got home from work.

"The nurse called me today at about noon. Dee had a fever and stomach ache." Harry said, kissing Louis' lips quickly.

Louis sighed, sitting next to her sleeping figure on the couch. "Poor little baby."

*****  
Delilah woke up as Harry and Louis were finishing dinner. Finn was being fussy and refusing to eat his carrots, and Louis was in the middle of bribing him with ice cream.

She felt dizzy and nauseous and her stomach was churning.

"Daddy!" she cried, standing from the couch. 

"What's the matter, Peanut?" he asked, walking into the living room.

"I don't feel good!"

"Are you gonna be sick?"

She nodded her head.

Harry scooped her up and ran to the bathroom, just in time for Delilah to vomit into the toilet.

Louis stood in the doorway, cringing at the sound, but Harry was unfazed.

She was done for a moment. Then she pulled her pants down and sat on the toilet and had terrible diarrhea. She began to vomit again, into the bin Harry held in front of her. Louis excused himself to get back to his son.

When Delilah had stopped, Harry plopped her into the tub and scrubbed her clean. Sobs and apologies came from her mouth, but he shushed her.  
"Don't be sorry, Peanut, you're sick." He spun her around to rinse her and saw a giant bruise spread across her lower back. "How'd you get this?" he asked, running his fingers over the blue and purple skin.

"It h-hurts! Don't touch it."

"How did this get here, Dee?" he asked again, his tone more serious.

"I d-don't know!" she sobbed.

"Can you remember hitting it or falling?"

"I-I think it was on the sl-slide. I was about to go down but then Zoe wanted to go first so I stood up and went b-backwards and I mayb-be hit my back   
on the top."

"Okay." Harry said quietly. He gently rinsed her off and wrapped her in a towel.

Louis walked in with a night-nappy, and warm pyjamas. He dressed Delilah and tucked her into bed while Harry cleaned the kitchen and gave Finn his promised ice cream.

*****  
Delilah couldn't keep anything down for the rest of the night, which resulted in no sleep for Harry.

Louis had an important meeting the next day, and it was important he was well rested.

Delilah could hardly keep her eyes open as she vomited the few sips of water she had had minutes before.

*****

She was still feverish and sick at the end of the week so Harry and Louis took her to the doctor. 

He said it was just the flu, and prescribed an antibiotic.

*****  
Delilah went back to school on Monday.

When Harry picked her up, he realized that she wasn't in the shirt he had dressed her in. Seconds later, Ms. Lloyd handed him Delilah's bloodied shirt, and explained that she had gotten a bloody nose in class.

Harry didn't think much of it, and he took Delilah home.

*****  
That night Delilah came into her dads' room crying, and complaining of a pain in her shoulders and neck.

It was still early, so Louis got out some lotion and gave his baby girl a little neck and shoulders massage. It didn't seem to go away, though, so Harry gave Delilah a bit of children's painkillers.

After that, she fell asleep.

*****  
That became a routine.

Delilah would come into Harry and Louis' bedroom complaining of another ache or pain. Louis would give her a little massage, and send her back to bed.

Harry told Louis about the slide incident and the bruise on her back, and they started to find more and more large bruises covering her body.

*****  
The next Sunday afternoon, Louis and Delilah were kicking around a football while Finn 'helped' Harry cook dinner.

That night, Harry pointed out that Delilah was limping. 

"What's wrong? Why are you walking like that?"

"My foot hurts."

Harry pulled up the bottoms of her pyjama pants, expecting to find one of her ankles maybe a little swollen, (Louis had thought she'd twisted her ankle) but he found that her legs were covered in bruises from the knees down. Even the bottoms of her feet had little bruises forming. 

There was a particularly large one on the ball of her right foot that did look rather painful, and Harry decided that was the reason she was limping.

He quickly let her pyjama pants go and stood, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead.

Harry walked into the kitchen, where Louis was pouring a cup of tea.

"Lou." he whispered urgently.

"Hmm?" Louis hummed, a warm smile on his face.

"There's something wrong with Delilah." 

Louis cocked his head, taking a sip of the hot liquid.

"She's got insane bruises all over her shins and feet. That bruise on her back hasn't gone away. It's been there for a week. That's not normal. It should be going away."

"What are you thinking then, hun?"

"I think there's something wrong and she needs to see a doctor."

"Okay. I'll call the pediatrician in five minutes. Just let me have my tea."

Harry nodded and kissed Louis gently.

A few minutes later Delilah complained of a tummy ache so Harry took her temperature. 

She had a fever.

Louis made her a cup of tea and let it cool for a few minutes before he poured it into a sippy cup.  
She drank it, but ended up vomiting before she went to bed.

Louis made her an appointment with her pediatrician and got in bed with his husband. They laid in bed for a while watching The Bachelorette. Just as they turned off the light, a scream came from down the hall. Both jumped up and raced to the bathroom and found Delilah standing next to the toilet, her pants at her ankles, and blood running down the insides of her legs.

"Oh my god." Harry muttered before kneeling down next to her and wetting a cloth. He cleaned her up and she was silent the entire time. She just stood there, staring at Louis; her eyes wide and mouth slightly open. She had never been good around the sight of blood, and then her knees buckled and she fell backwards.

Harry caught her and continued to wipe the blood away from her legs.

"Wha..." Louis trailed off, unable to form a sentence.

"We need to take her to the hospital."

"Where is it..."

"I don't know but either way it's not good." Harry said, "Can you get her some new underwear?"

Louis nodded and quickly left the bathroom doorway. He returned moments later with pink flowered panties in one hand, and green shorts in the other.

Delilah came to as Harry was dressing her and started crying out of pure horror. He grabbed a bath towel just in case and Louis gently woke Finn, taking his blanket and buckling him into his carseat, and they sped to the hospital.

*****  
At the hospital, the doctor working on Delilah explained that it was rectal bleeding, which could be caused by hemorrhoids, or gastrointestinal problems. But she was pretty sure that those were not what had caused it.

"We'd like to draw some blood and admit her to the children's wing. With all her symptoms: stomach ache, easy bruising and bleeding, flu symptoms... it all points towards leukemia. The blood test will tell us if it is, and what kind." she said softly.

Louis grimly nodded, adjusting the sleeping boy in his lap, but Harry just stared at her. "L-Leukemia? That's c-cancer, isn't i-it?" he choked out.

"It is." she answered quietly.

And Harry broke down in tears.

Louis tried to quiet him, telling him that it might not be cancer, and if it was, they would get her the best treatment.  
But he continued to cry.

*****  
Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a subtype of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. It is also known as acute progranulocytic leukemia. 

In APL, there is an abnormal accumulation of immature granulocytes called promyelocytes. The disease is characterized by a chromosomal translocation involving the retinoic acid receptor alpha gene and is unique from other forms of AML in its responsiveness to all trans retinoic acid (ATRA) therapy.

*****  
When the Tomlinson family was informed of the news, Delilah was confused, Louis was silent, and Harry was a mess.

The doctor carefully explained everything to the little girl sitting on her father's knee.

But Delilah was more concerned about Harry.

"Daddy, why are you crying?"

And Harry didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell her that he was sad, or scared-- that he feared for her life.

Louis saved him, and said, "Listen to Dr. Kelly, Peanut. Daddy's okay."

*****  
When the appointment was over, Louis carried Delilah on his hip out to the lobby and started filling out her paperwork for chemotherapy and radiation. 

Harry excused himself and went outside. Before he could even make it to the car his body was shaking with sobs and gasps for air.

He sat in the car and screamed his lungs out, cursing God and asking what Delilah had done to deserve this.

"SHE'S JUST A BABY!" he sobbed.

There was a quick knock on the window and he lifted his head to see Louis outside the car, carrying Delilah.

Harry had to bite his sleeve to keep in the pitiful whimpers and noises while Louis strapped Delilah into her car seat.

The ride home was bitterly silent.

*****  
When they finally arrived home, Harry raced inside and up to his room and into the shower. The water burned his skin as he wept, quieter now.

He stayed under the hot stream of water until it turned unbearably cold... which was almost 2 hours later.

*****  
Harry went downstairs to find Delilah, Finn and Louis eating mac and cheese from little plastic bowls. His sister must have stopped by to return their son.

They stared at him for a second before Louis gave him a sad smile, and Delilah asked: "Daddy, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Peanut. How are you?"

"Good. Why were you in your room so long?"

"He was taking a little nap. He was tired." Louis answered.

Harry just nodded and sat down next to Louis, who pushed his plastic bowel towards Harry. He ate it quietly, never taking his eyes off of Delilah who sat across the table.

"Daddy, why are you looking at me funny?"

"I'm not, baby girl. You just look beautiful right now."

Delilah smiled wide and struck a pose, bursting into giggles. She then opened her mouth and pressed her tongue against her wiggly bottom tooth.

"Is that tooth ever gonna fall out?" Louis laughed.

She shrugged and wiggled it with her finger. "I'll pull it out when I need some cash. Dylan said that his tooth fairy gave him like 10£."

"That's a lot of money." Harry remarked.

"Yeah. I hope my tooth fairy gives me a lot of money." Delilah smiled.

"I guess Daddy and I will be speaking with her when your tooth falls out, then."

"Tell her to put sparkles under my pillow, too. That way I'll know she's magical!"

"My tooth fall out?" Finn asked Delilah.

"Maybe when you're older Finny." she smiled.

*****  
Delilah had a PICC line put into her chest so she wouldn't have to have a needle put in her arm every day of chemotherapy. She was bothered that you could see it under her shirt, and proceeded to have a fit.

"Daddy, make them take it out! The tape itches and it's ugly!" she cried.

"No, you have to keep it in, Peanut. If they take it out, then they have to stick you with needles every day. This is so much easier, baby girl. If you absolutely can't stand it after this week then they'll take it out, okay?"

Delilah calmed and Harry took her home.

*****  
At her first day of chemo, Delilah met a boy named Drew, who was about 10.

Harry talked with his mother, and she shared some of her experiences with chemotherapy and radiation.

Drew had Hodgkin's lymphoma, and was almost done with his second round of treatment.

He and Delilah watched the movie playing on the TV (because it was a children's hospital) and played games on his iPad.

Drew and his mother left as Delilah was going to radiation. She sat and talked with another little girl named Ally, who had a benign brain tumor.

*****  
After Delilah's radiation session was over, she was free to go home. There were no terrible effects on her yet; she hadn't vomited, her motor skills were still intact, and her hair would still be on her head for about another two weeks.

Harry and Louis hadn't exactly explained to Delilah that her hair would fall out, but they would have to eventually. They did, though, measure her head and order her a brown wig, similar to her own short hair.

*****  
Delilah went to treatment every day and Harry cried himself to sleep every night.

There was nothing he could do but sob into Louis' chest and ask, "Why? Why her?"

*****  
It was 15 days later, after her daily chemo and radiation, that Delilah was trying to put her hair in pigtails, and as she tried to make a part, a little chunk fell out.

She screamed in terror and Louis ran into the bathroom to find her fingers tangled in her hair, and pulling out chunk after chunk.

Harry was at the market, and Louis was frozen in terror. It was only a second before he was grabbing his baby girl and turning her away from the mirror, shushing her sobs. He brushed the hair from her hands into the sink and took her out into the living room, where he held her tight.  
Finn sat on the floor, unaware of the terrible situation that his family was in, and Louis suddenly wondered how Finn would find all of this. His young mind probably wasn't even capable of the basic understanding of sickness, and Louis became mildly envious of his baby boy.

*****  
Harry arrived home minutes later, to find a sniffling Louis on the couch, their little blue-eyed boy on his lap, his arms wrapped around his father's neck.

"What happened?" he asked quietly.

"Her hair's falling out." he choked, "She was crying so hard and I didn't know what to do."

"Where is she?"

"In her room. I've never heard her cry so hard in her entire life."

Harry just nodded and slowly climbed the stairs and padded into Delilah's room.

She was lying face down on her bed her back rising and falling in erratic breaths.

"Peanut?"

Delilah didn't answer.

Harry sat on the edge of her bed.

"Princess, I know this is really upsetting, and I know you're probably mad at me and Papa for not telling you. The only reason this is happening is   
because of the medicine which will make you better. How about we get some ice cream and then we'll see about your hair, okay?"

Delilah slowly rolled over and nodded at her father, who gently lifted her from the bed and carried her to the kitchen. They sat and had ice cream with Finn while Louis gathered himself in the privacy of his bedroom.

"Dee, you know, we'll probably have to get rid of all your hair." Harry said almost conversationally.

"I don't want to."

"I think you have to, Peanut." But Harry didn't think, he knew.

"I'm not going to, Daddy." Delilah retorted matter-of-factly.

"Babe, it's gonna keep falling out no matter what, so how about we just shave it all off so it looks nice and neat."

"No. I'm not doing that. I will stop taking the medicine and let my hair grow back."

"It's not that simple, Delilah. You have to keep taking medicine or else you'll be sick forever."

"Daddy, I'm not going to be bald. Bald is ugly. Girls aren't bald. I already told you, I'm not gonna take medicine."

Harry deeply sighed, because it's just not that simple. He thought that maybe he should just leave her be until all of her hair was gone, but then he   
realized it'd probably be more torturous to let her see all of her hair falling out.

"What if I shave my head, too? Then we can both be bald together."

Delilah's chin quivered, because she started to realize that she would not be getting out of this whole bald thing. Her eyes stung and tears welled up at the corners and slowly spilled down her cheeks.

Harry stood and lifted her from the kitchen chair, holding her close to his chest. She cried into his shoulder and clung tight to his t-shirt.

After a moment, Finn stood from his chair and walked over to where Harry swayed his big sister back and forth. He wrapped one arm around Harry's left leg, and the other hand reached up to comfortingly hold Delilah's ankle.

The three stood like that for a minute before Finn let go of Harry and Delilah. He kissed one palm and gently patted his sister's foot. Harry looked down at his little boy and smiled, a silent thanks for giving his sister a kiss.

Finn wandered off into the den and then climbed the stairs and waddled into his parents' bedroom where Louis sat hunched over on the edge of the bed.

"Lilah sad." he announced in his softest voice.

Louis looked up from his blank stare at the carpet and met the eyes of his son. His small, red lips were turned into a frown and his bright blue eyes held sadness within them.

"I know, Bud." He slowly stood from his bent position and scooped Finn into his strong arms.

"Why?" the boy squeaked.

"Because her medicine made her hair fall out."

Finn gave his father a confused look, but was satisfied with the answer given.

Louis gently pressed his lips to Finn's forehead before walking going back downstairs and into the kitchen.

Harry stood with Delilah still wrapped in his arms, singing a song that could make any woman smile.

"Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful? Isn't she precious? Less than one minute old. And who would've thought from love we'd be makin' one as lovely as she? But isn't she lovely? Made from love."

"Daddy." Delilah whispered, a hiccup following.

"Hmm?"

"Will you go first?"

It took a moment for Louis to realize what Delilah was talking about, and what his husband was agreeing to by nodding his head and smiling.

*****  
It took Louis a few minutes to set up a chair in the small bathroom and find his electric razor. Harry placed Delilah on the sink adjacent from the chair and then sat down. Louis draped a towel over his shoulders and carded his fingers through his husband's precious locks.

"'M gonna miss these." he mumbled.

Harry just took a deep breath and smiled at Delilah.

The pitter of little feet could be heard and Finn appeared in the doorway.

He looked at Delilah sitting on the sink and simply said, "Up."

Louis squeezed around the chair and lifted him onto the sink next to Delilah.

It was eerily silent as Louis turned on the razor and shakily brought his hand to Harry's head. Slowly, he pulled the razor through Harry's hair, leaving a hairless trail. He repeated the process quite a few times before Delilah and Finn's giggles made him look up.

"You look funny, Daddy." Delilah laughed.

"Thank you." he said in that deep raspy voice that gave Louis shivers.

"Almost done." Louis muttered, pushing the razor from the nape of Harry's neck up.

Less than a minute later Louis was announcing that it was all finished, and Harry was standing so he could see himself in the mirror that his children were blocking.

"Oh my."

"You look like a kitty!" Delilah remarked.

"A kitty?!"

"Yes. With cute wittle ears." she smiled, pulling on her father's arm so he would lower himself. "Smooth." she said, rubbing her sweaty hands over his bald head.

Finn reached over and petted Harry's head too.

"Peanut's turn." Louis smiled, sounding as happy as a man about to shave his daughter's head can sound.

"No," Delilah whimpered, "Papa, no."

And Harry had never seen such a look of pure horror on a five-year-old's face.

Louis' stomach twisted as tears started running down his baby's face.

Harry crouched down so he was Delilah's level and tried to calm her down. He lifted her from the sink and into his arms. She sobbed harder and Finn started crying as well, obviously upset by his sister's wails.

The husbands shared a knowing look before Harry set Delilah down in the chair and carried Finn out of the bathroom. Louis was quick to wrap the towel around her shoulders and turn on the razor. Tears welled up in the grown man's eyes as he brought the little buzzing machine to his daughter's head.

Delilah's whole body jerked as she howled her heart-breaking sobs. Her eyes were tightly shut and her hands were fisting the bath towel from the inside.

Louis dug the heel of his left hand into his left eye in hopes of stopping the tears that were steadily running down his cheekbones. He bit his lip to keep his own sobs. His hand moved faster and faster in hopes of just getting it over with.  
After a quick run of his shaking hands over Delilah's head, (to make sure he got all the hair) he grabbed a beanie from the top of his wardrobe and pulled it over her head.

She still sobbed as he carried her down the hall and into her pink bedroom. He lay back on the bed and gently pulled her beanie-clad head to his chest.

Delilah's sobs eventually quieted until her breathing formed a pattern of two sharp inhales and one quivering exhale.  
Louis couldn't care less about the snot and spit that Delilah was getting on his shirt as she buried her face in his chest.   
After some time, the familiar scent of Louis' cologne put her to sleep and all Louis could do was rub her back and stare at the ceiling.

*****  
Harry wandered into Delilah's room and found his daughter and husband asleep, curled into each other like kittens. He gently tapped Louis on the shoulder, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Huh?" Louis yawned, lifting his head off of the pink pillow.

"Dinner's ready." Harry smiled, kissing his temple.

"Okay." Louis grunted as he sat up. "Should we get her up?"

Harry thought for a moment before nodding. "Let's try to get everything back to normal."

"Normal's gonna be hard when you two are bald. You do look like a bit of an alien, if I do say so myself."

Harry snorted and reached past Louis to shake Delilah awake. Her eyes slowly blinked open, and she stared at her dads for a bit.

"Dinner's ready." Harry said.

"Where's my hair?!" she asked suddenly. "What'd you do with it?!"

"I threw it away, Peanut." Harry answered softly.

"We got you a wig, though. Just like your hair used to be. It'll be here in a few days." Louis smiled, rubbing his hand over the edge of the beanie on her head.

Delilah was pleased to hear that, and she opened her arms, asking to be carried. "I'm hungry."

Louis smiled and pulled her into his lap and squeezed her.

The three walked downstairs together and Harry retrieved Finn from the carpet in front of the TV where he sat with his toy trains.

Harry had made grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, along with boiled corn on the cob and some broccoli.

Delilah took her first bite of corn and made a distressed grunt. She spit out all the kernels on her plate and began digging through them worriedly.

"What's the matter, Dee?" Louis asked.

"My tooth!" she yelped. "I think it fell out!"

"Let me see." Harry said, gently grabbing Delilah's chin and pulling her bottom lip down. "Yep, it's gone."

"I lost it!" 

"It's right here." Louis chuckled, picking the little bloodied tooth.

"The tooth fairy's gonna come! She's gonna leave me lots of money!" Delilah smiled, utterly elated. She grabbed her tooth from Louis and gently set it   
next to her plate.

*****  
That night, Harry ran to the craft store at midnight to buy a little packet of glitter for under Delilah's pillow.  
After he took her tooth and left her some money, he worked on her scrapbook for a bit and wrote in her diary about the long day.   
Harry kept a diary and scrapbook for each child, so one day, when they're grown, they can read it and know exactly what happened on a certain day, or how much they weighed on their second birthday.

He didn't grow tired until almost 4, so he finally closed the little pink book and tucked it into his bedside drawer. Louis let out a quiet grunt when the drawer slammed shut, and Harry leaned over and kissed behind his ear, whispering a soft: "Love you." before wrapping Louis in his arms and falling asleep.

Harry didn't cry.  
*****

"Daddy." Poke. "Daddy." Poke. "Daddy." Poke. "Daddy." Slap!

"Ow..." Harry moaned, rolling over and burying his face into the smushy pillow.

"Daddy, we're hungry." Delilah whined.

"Go away." Harry murmured, jokingly of course.

"Daddy!" Delilah screeched.

"Dada." Finn said in a warning tone.

"What time's it?"

"Five four eight."

"Dee, we've been over this a hundred times. You're not allowed to leave your room until it says six zero zero."

"But my tummy is growling, Daddy! You don't understand!"

"Fine. Give me a few minutes."

Finn nuzzled his head under Harry's chin and crawled under the blankets.

"Is little Finny tired?" Harry asked, pulling him into his side.

Finn nodded and wiggled until he was comfortable.

"Why are you up so early anyway, little man?"

"I woke him up. He was probably hungry, too."

"Delilah, you know the rules. You never wake Finn up, okay? He's younger than you and needs more sleep."

Delilah just shrugged her shoulders and bounced impatiently on Harry's knees. Finn put his thumb in his mouth and closed his eyes.

"Let's go have some breakfast." Harry grunted, sitting up and taking Delilah with him. He took one last glance at his sleeping husband and son before   
going downstairs.

Harry made her a toaster waffle with syrup and raspberries, which Delilah proceeded to put on the tips of each finger and wiggle in his face. He bit one of them off, which caused her to burst into giggles and copy him.

The two moved to the couch and watched cartoons for almost two hours before footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs.  
Louis appeared with Finn, whose head was buried deeply in his father's neck.

"Morning, handsomes." Harry smiled.

"Hi, Daddy." Louis grinned, walking into the kitchen.

Harry leaned back on the couch and ran his fingers over Delilah's bald head.

"I love you Daddy-O." she spoke abruptly.

"I love you Delilah Anne."

"I love you Papa-Pie." she called, turning her head towards the kitchen.

"I love you too Delilah-Poo."

And suddenly Harry remembered about her tooth. She hadn't said anything about it, and he wondered if maybe she'd forgotten.

"Did the tooth fairy come, Peanut?"

Delilah gasped, leaping off the couch and running to the stairs.

"I forgot to check!" she screeched.

Harry chuckled lightly and joined Louis and Finn in the kitchen.

"Are you hungry, Finny?" Louis asked in what Harry called his 'baby voice'.

Finn nodded, rubbing his tired blue eyes.

"What do you want to eat, then? Cereal? Waffles? Oatmeal?"

"Tereal." the boy mumbled.

"What kind? We have Frosted Flakes, Cheerios, Fruit Loops, Cinnamon Toast-"

"Tinnamon Toast Crunch!" Finn demanded.

"Alrighty then." Louis remarked.

Harry watched silently and admired his two boys. Finn clung to Louis like a koala, yet Louis looked like he was holding onto Finn just as tight.

A scream came from the top of the stairs, but Harry knew it was a good scream.

"She came, she came! There's sparkles under my pillow and everything! She's magical! She left me ten quid!"

"You're rich!" Harry yelled to her, a happy laughter in his voice.

Delilah bounded back down the stairs and hugged Harry's leg.

"Where's your money?"

"I'm hiding it."

"Saving up?" Louis grinned at her.

"Yep."

"Watch'a gonna buy with your ten quid?" Harry asked, setting her on his hip.

"Bubblegum."

"Really? Bubblegum? That's it?" Harry joked.

"Yep. And I'll buy stickers, too."

"Shall we go this afternoon?" he asked in a snooty voice.

"We shall." she giggled.

*****  
Harry and Delilah bought bubblegum and stickers wearing matching red beanies.

When they arrived home, Finn greeted them with hugs and kisses and demands to look at his new light-up Spiderman shoes. Louis was in the kitchen cooking dinner; a simple batch of taquitos and nachos in the microwave.

They watched half of Frozen before both kids fell asleep.  
In bed, Louis and Harry contemplated what they should do about Delilah and school. She hadn't gone in two weeks, but the year was almost over.

"It's not like they're doing anything really important." Louis retorted.

"I know, but her friends are there. It's still important that she sees them. I mean, she can't turn into a total recluse. What if years from now when she's all better, she turns out to be a social introvert because we pulled her out of kindergarten?"

"You were a social introvert in college." Louis chuckled.

"Was not."

"You were. Don't deny it." he smirked.

"Okay, so I was kind of nerdy, but that doesn't mean I was an introvert."

"You had no friends."

"Now that's not true! I had a few friends..."

"How many is a few?"

"One?"

"Niall? You considered that animal of a roommate a friend?"

"Sure. He was nice."

"He was nice because you let him throw parties in your dorm every single night."

"You should be grateful. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for one of his parties."

"I have a feeling that we would have found each other anyway."

"Me too." Harry agreed. The dark bedroom was silent for minutes. It was a comfortable silence. Just when Harry thought Louis had fallen asleep, he spoke.

"Do you want more kids?" he asked.

"'Course I do. S'just expensive is all."

"Would they be yours or mine?"

"Don't care." Harry yawned.

"Mine. Any child of yours would turn out to be a giant, like you. I don't want my kids to be taller than me."

"Just because they're yours doesn't mean they won't be tall. Who knows how tall their mum is! She could be taller than me."

Louis huffed an annoyed sigh.

"Sorry. I know you don't like when I refer to the egg as their mum." Harry whispered.

"No, it's not that. I just don't want them to grow up. Ever."

"You know, just today when I was out with Delilah, I noticed how much she looks like you. I mean, you guys have the exact same nose and lips and ears. Now that she's bald, I can actually see her ears for like the first time in her life and they look exactly like yours."

"Slow down. It's too late for you to be talking so fast."

"I wanna get a tattoo." Harry blurted.

"Mmm. Of what?"

"Like the kids' initials or something important. Our wedding anniversary. Your name. I don't know."

"Go for it." Louis yawned.

"What if we got matching tattoos?"

"Nope."

"Why not?!" Harry asked, propping himself up on one arm.

"Don't like tattoos."

"Lou..."

"Get some if you want! I don't want any." Louis turned over to his stomach.

"Don't go to sleep yet!"

"M'tired."

"Well I'm not."

"Sleep."

"BooBear!" Harry whined.

"Don't call me that."

"You love it when I call you BooBear."

"Be quiet."

"You're such a diva when you're tired."

"Yes I am thank you for taking notice. Now if you wouldn't mind, I have a big meeting tomorrow and I don't want to fall asleep in the middle of it and get fired."

"Ooh. Sassy." Harry giggled.

"Hun, I love you, but I just really need you to shut up."

"You look really hot right now. Never knew I married a sexy beast..."

"Oh my God, stop."

"... with a phenomenal arse..."

"Seriously?"

"... and thighs to die for..."

"Stop."

"... and he has these killer biceps..."

"I swear to God-"

"... he makes me weak at the knees... and I love him so so so so so so so so so so much."

"Fuck off."

"Bastard!" Harry loudly whispered. "Doesn't appreciate my compliments."

"I will seriously go sleep on the couch if you do not shut up right this second." Louis yawned.

"Okay." Harry whispered, "I'll be quiet now." He turned on his side so he faced his husband.

"Love you, Hazza, I do." Louis mumbled.

"Love you too, baby." Harry smiled, scooting so he pressed right against Louis' side.

Harry didn't cry.

***  
Finn jerked awake after a terrifying dream of getting lost in the market. He proceeded to fill his silent room with sobs and cries for his daddy and papa.

Harry woke at the sound of crying and rushed into his room.

"What's the matter Finny?" he asked, lifting his boy from his white crib. It was probably time that Finn got a big boy bed.

"Daddy," he sobbed.

"Did you have a scary dream, bud?" Finn nodded his head and wailed into Harry's shoulder. "It's okay, Daddy's here, Daddy's here." he cooed.

Finn's cries quieted as Harry swayed back and forth in the middle of his son's blue bedroom.

"Do you wanna come sleep with me and Papa?" Harry asked. 

"Yeah..." Finn sniffled.

"Okay. Daddy will keep you safe tonight."

Harry carried his boy into his bedroom and settled him on his strong chest. The two fell asleep next to Louis, who had cracked an eye open to see his two favorite boys together in the moonlight.

***  
Louis was the first awake in the Tomlinson household, which was unusual, considering Delilah was up every morning at the crack of dawn. He showered and got dressed in a blue button down and black trousers. Since he had a bit of extra time, he decided to slick his hair back; a change from his usual fringe.

He peaked into Delilah's room, and found that she was still soundly asleep. 

"I love you, baby girl." he whispered, kissing her hairless head.

Louis then went back into his bedroom and kissed his son and husband goodbye. And he left for work.

***  
Harry woke to Finn's quiet words, "Dada, I'm hun'ry."

"Yeah, bud?" he smirked, squinting in the bright light of the morning sun.

"Mmm-hmm."

"Okay, let's go get some breakfast." Harry grunted as he sat up and carried Finn down the stairs. "Guess your sister's not up yet."

So Harry made some French toast and eggs. After they were finished eating, Delilah was still not up, so he went and checked on her.

She lay still in bed, but her eyes were wide open.

"Delilah? Are you okay?" he asked as he slowly approached.

A grunt came from her slightly parted lips, and Harry knew something was wrong. Her eyes stared straight ahead but only her right eye blinked, as if she was winking.

"Peanut? Can you hear me? What happened?" he asked worriedly, kneeling next to her bed.

She whined; her expression unchanged.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Harry whispered. Adrenalin started coursing through his veins. He ran to his bedroom and picked up the phone on the nightstand and dialed Louis.

"Oh Jesus, please, oh God." he chanted whilst running back into Delilah's room.

"Hello?" Louis' pleasant voice came.

"Louis, oh God, I think Delilah had a stroke or something she's just laying here and making noises! Oh God, what do I do?!" he cried.

"Call 999, I'm leaving right now."  
Harry hung up and dialed the emergency number.

"What's your emergency?"

"I think my daughter's had a stroke. She's five and has Leukemia and she's not moving. She can't talk she's just grunting and whining. I need an ambulance."

"Alright sir, is she breathing?"

"Yes."

"I have your location; the ambulance will be there momentarily. Make sure they can enter the house without trouble. Stay on the line with me until they arrive."

"Okay." Harry ran downstairs and opened the front door. It was surprisingly cold outside. "Oh my God, no no no no no." his voice cracked as he ran up   
the stairs, taking three steps at a time.

"The paramedics are just around the corner. Calm down and comfort her. Children hate seeing their parents upset."

"It's okay, Peanut. You're gonna be fine, just gonna take a little trip to the doctor's and make sure you're okay, okay? Okay. Okay. Okay?"

Harry could hear the sirens.

Delilah made a noise that sounded like a gurgle and her eyes slowly rolled back in her head and closed.

"No! Delilah! Look at me, look at me, keep your eyes open! Delilah Anne! Jesus fucking Christ!"

"Stop. She's probably still conscious, which means she can hear you. Keep your voice calm and try to comfort her."

"What?! Why?! Is she dying?!"

"Please, sir. Calm down. The paramedics are there."

"I love you, baby girl. So so so so so so so so much." Harry whispered. His mind was suddenly playing through all the scenarios that could possible happen. What if Delilah died?

Harry was not sure if he could live while his baby girl did not.

*****  
The paramedics came and took her away. Harry followed behind with Finn in the backseat, completely unaware of what had happened.  
Harry sat with Finn in the waiting room, his legs bouncing uncontrollably as he waited for any information.  
Gemma arrived minutes later to take Finn home to her own family.   
Louis arrived within the hour, eyes red with worry.  
Harry had just barely finished the paperwork when his husband walked through the sliding doors into the ER.  
They sat in silence for God knows how long until a nurse called their names over the speaker in the waiting room.

*****  
Together they sat on the right side of Delilah's hospital bed while her doctor explained what had happened. Delilah had suffered a stroke, and though it was minor, there would be some consequences.

"Fortunately, there's no devastating brain damage, but seeing as her cancer has manifested itself otherwise, her condition is greatly compromised."

"What does that mean- 'manifested itself otherwise'- what are you talking about?" Louis asked harshly.

"We performed a PET scan as well as a CAT, and it showed that her cancer is no longer just in her bloodstream and bones, but she has a tumor near her left shoulder. It's about here-" the doctor put two fingers right underneath his collarbone next to his shoulder.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Louis questioned.

"Well the first things to do are up her radiation to four days a week instead of two and then alter her chemo to target it and not just the leukemia."

"And then what?"

"We wait. See if the treatment makes any difference. If it doesn't then we need to look into a surgery to try and remove the tumor and a possible blood transfusion and/or bone marrow transplant. Does she have any biological siblings? Do you know who her biological parents are?"

"She has a little brother, and Louis is the father and we used an egg donor who we've reserved for more kids." Harry answered quietly. He was preoccupied tracing Delilah's delicate features.

"Well that makes things about 1000 times easier. We'll look and see if anyone in the family is a match-"

"What's her prognosis?" Louis cut in.

"It's still very unclear, Mr. Tomlinson,"

"Louis. Call me Louis."

"It's unclear, Louis. She suffered a grand mal seizure during her CAT scan and if she has another one… that might point to another condition that may complicate things. And because she's still unconscious, we can't be exactly sure of how the brain damage has affected her. We know that because the stroke occurred on the right side of her brain, she'll have some trouble operating the left side of her body. This is going to have to be taken day by day- we can't rush into anything."

Louis nodded, his brain still trying to process everything he was being told.

"When do you think she'll wake up?" Harry asked.

"Soon. She's young, she'll bounce back quickly."

*****  
The doctor was right, and within two hours Delilah was blinking her blue eyes open.

"Hi, Peanut." Harry greeted with a soft smile.

"Daddy, guess what." she whispered with an excited smile. Harry was glad to hear that she was speaking well. Strokes are known to cause speech impediment, but he could hear no difference except for the slight lisp that hadn't been there before.

"What?" Harry asked, running a giant hand over her baby soft scalp.

"Me and Great Grammy Tommo baked cookies together." Delilah smiled wide.

"That's great, babe." Harry returned the smile. She must have just been dreaming.

"Where's Papa?"

"He's just gone to get us some dinner. He'll be so glad to see you're awake."

"And where's Finny?"

"He's with Auntie Gemma."

"Where's Papa?"

Harry laughed a bit, "He's getting me some dinner."

"And where's Finny?" she asked again, a completely serious expression on her face.

"With Auntie Gemma."

"Wait, so Papa's not here?" Delilah asked, looking around the pastel green hospital room.

"Peanut, why are you asking me the same questions?"

"I'm not!" Delilah giggled, poking Harry's dimple with her right pointer finger.

"You asked me where Papa and Finny were two times."

"Daddy, I did not!" she laughed, running her right hand over the hair growing back on Harry's head.

"Yes you did, goose." Harry grinned, grabbing her hand and play biting it.

"Daddy stop," she giggled, "So Papa's really not here?" she asked, almost in disbelief.

"No, he's not. Why is that so hard to understand?" he asked gently, but his voice sounded concerned.

"So where is he?"

"Getting me dinner!" Harry laughed. He was beginning to think this was a joke.

"No, I mean like right now. This second."

"Um, in the car? Probably. On his was back here." Harry decided.

"Back where?" Delilah asked.

"Here. The hospital that you're in."

"Okay, but why is he in the car?"

"Because he's driving...?" Harry answered slowly.

"Where is he driving?"

"Here. To us."

"Oh. But what car is he in?"

"His car- the red one."

"Is Finn with him?"

"No, Finn's at Auntie Gemma's." Harry explained, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"And where's Papa?"

"Delilah, you're not funny anymore, okay?"

"Daddy!" Delilah cried, "Why are you so mean to me?"

"Babe, don't cry, I just don't want to play games right now." Harry sighed, hoping Delilah would stop her little act.

"What game are we playing?" she asked happily, wiping her eyes from her five second meltdown.

"You tell me." Harry retorted.

"Is it my turn?"

Harry shook his head in confusion. Did she really not understand?

"I'm gonna go and find your doctor, okay Peanut?"

Delilah nodded and leaned back, closing her eyes and rolling on her right side.

Harry walked out into the quiet hallway of the children's wing and found a nurse. 

"Can I speak to Dr. Cooper? My daughter had a stroke and she just woke up-"

"Sure, what room number is your daughter in?"

"Uh," Harry turned around and squinted at the plaque on the door, "317."

"I'll go find him and tell him."

Harry went back into Delilah's room and waited for about three minutes before the doctor walked in.

"Did she fall asleep?"

"Yeah, I think." Harry replied, reaching over to hold Delilah's small hand.

"So what's been going on?"

"Well, she woke up and asked where her dad and brother were, I answered, and then she asked again. It's like she's not really understanding what I'm saying- It's weird."

"That's very interesting. A part of her brain that we saw damage in is the "information processing" part. If she was born with damage like that, it'd appear as a learning disability, but because she's older it's different. It could've affected her in many different ways, but in this situation it's quite literal. Obviously, she's going to have trouble processing information, but some therapy will probably fix that. For now we need to make sure she's stable and not at risk of an aneurysm."

Harry nodded in understanding, "Thank you."

*****  
Louis arrived with Harry's sub sandwich and a soda.  
"Has she woken up yet?"

"Yeah, she was up for a little while. Doctor says she's gonna have some trouble processing information because that's where the damage is, also moving her left side. When she was up she, like, couldn't understand that you and Finn weren't here. He says that therapy with help." Harry explained before taking a large bite of his sandwich.

Louis pulled up a chair on the left side of Delilah's bed and gently traced the soft lines of her face. She stirred slightly, nuzzling into the calloused palm of his hand. The three sat in silence for a while, Harry eating, Delilah sleeping, and Louis thinking. He drank in the entire situation, his head spinning as he came back, staring as his sleeping little girl.

"Jesus, Harry. What are we going to do?" he blurted out, suddenly stressed and troubled.

"What are you talking about, hun?"

"Our daughter had a stroke, Harry. She has cancer! Why did this happen? Why us?! Why her?! Why our baby girl?!" His eyes filled with tears as all the suppressed emotion rose.

Harry set down his sandwich and walked over to Louis. He pulled him up from his chair before sitting down and pulling Louis into his lap. Louis buried his face into Harry's neck and let it all out, sobbing and gasping for air.  
Harry had come to terms with everything during the long nights he cried himself to sleep. Of course he was still upset by everything that had happened, but he had taken on a new perspective and was better able to handle the fact that his daughter had suffered a stroke.  
Louis, on the other hand, had kept most of his emotions bottled up inside. Yes, he had cried when her hair started falling out and later when he shaved her head, but that was all in the heat of the moment-- he was still disbelieving of the entire situation. He hadn't thought of the future, had never thought about Delilah dying. It wasn't an option. It couldn't happen. His brain simply didn't work the way Harry's did.   
He was just then processing the possibility that this could end very badly. Very fucking badly.  
*****  
After Louis was all cried out, he freshened up in the restroom connected to Delilah's room.  
She woke at the flush of the toilet and blinked at Harry, who greeted her with a wide smile.

"Papa's here."

"Daddy, it hurts." she groaned, shifting on her right side in bed.

"What hurts, Peanut?" Harry frowned, resting his hand gently on her left arm, which was laying limp behind her back. It looked like an uncomfortable position. 

When Delilah didn't react to Harry's cold hand on her warm skin, Harry tried adjusting it to the front of her body.

"Ouch! Daddy! Stop! That hurts!" she screamed, tears filling her eyes and her face grimacing in pain.  
Harry dropped her arm in shock at her outburst.  
Within seconds a nurse came running into the room. "Her blood pressure spiked, what happened?"

"I tried to move her arm and she screamed! I didn't do anything, I swear!" Harry said defensively.

"Okay. Well high blood pressure in children usually means they're in pain, just had to make sure she wasn't having a seizure or heart attack."

Harry nodded with a small smile as a dismissal and the nurse left.  
Louis came out of the toilet with wide eyes. “What happened?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Harry sighed.

“It’s Papa!” Delilah cried in a tone of pure joy and delight.

“Hi, my princess!” Louis grinned, his face absolutely lighting up. He went and sat on the end of her bed before scooting up and giving her multiple kisses all over the face.

*****  
After Delilah had dinner, the little family all sat on her bed and played games until it was time for Delilah to go to bed.  
It was clear that Delilah had no use of the left side of her body and that she was definitely having trouble processing information.  
After explaining the concept of “Go Fish” to her eight times, she still didn’t understand that when Harry asked for a piggy card, that she couldn’t give him a kitten card.   
Soon, they gave up on the game and settled on watching Frozen on Louis’ iPad. Delilah fell asleep before Anna and Hans could finish Love is an Open Door. Louis and Harry sat in silence for a few minutes, just admiring their daughter. They’d never seen anyone-- or anything, for that matter-- so beautiful.  
*****  
It was the next week that Delilah’s doctor asked to sit down with them. Dr. Cooper looked tired, obviously not having slept in a while.

“Since Delilah’s been here at the hospital she’s been under close watch, as you both know. She had her first chemo and radiation with the higher dosage to target the tumor in her arm, and it seems as if she’s not been reacting the way we expected.”

“What are you talking about? She seems fine to me.” Louis interjected his body stiffening.

“Well, we found out that when she was first admitted that the cancer was spreading rapidly, but the radiation and chemo from last week alone should have put the spread to a halt… But it hasn’t.”

Harry swallowed loudly.   
“So what do you suggest?”

“Well, the chemo and radiation has seemed to help the tumor, but it’s the leukemia now that’s the real problem. At her physical therapy her nurse noted that while helping her stand she felt some swelling under Delilah’s arms and after a test, it showed that there is now severe swelling in her lymph nodes as well as her liver.”

“And what does that mean?”

“Well, considering she’s been anemic for a while, and now with the enlargement of her liver, her leukemia would now be classified as stage three.”

The first of many tears that day slipped down Harry’s cheek.

“And what does that mean?” Louis repeated.

“It means that with her age and the quick progression of her cancer, it’s time that we look into a bone marrow transplant.”

There was a long silence.

“But we don’t know who her biological mother is.” Harry muttered.

“Finding a match is still possible; we can look on Louis’ side of the family and in our database. Sometimes we can find a better match from a stranger than in the family.”

*****  
Everyone in the Tomlinson family was tested, even the distant cousins that Louis hadn’t spoken to since Christmas over 15 years ago, even though they had a less than 1% chance of being a match.  
No match was found, not even in their records from people across the entire United Kingdom. No one was even close to having Delilah’s genes. Even with Finn having a 25% chance of being a match, he wasn’t.  
“We can always try the Anonymous Biological Donation Center; see if they can get in touch with her…” Harry suggested.  
“Harry it’s anonymous that the fucking point. There’s no way we’ll find her.”  
“We can always ask.”  
“Harry, they have the strictest laws about privacy and that shit. There’s absolutely no way we’ll get in touch with her.”  
Harry remained quiet.

*****  
That night he got in touch with the ABDC with no information but a number. #14892. That was all they knew about her. She was #14892.   
He sent off a desperate email, explaining the heartbreaking details of Delilah’s situation and begging for anything they could give.  
To his surprise, they emailed back--with good news.  
#14892 had marked a special box on her forms that in the case of an emergency, the ABDC could give out her information to the guardians of the children she biologically mothered.  
Stage 3 leukemia in an adolescent classifies as an emergency.

***  
Eleanor Calder lived in Manchester with her husband Tyler and three kids, Christina, Kelsey, and Ethan. When Tyler found out he couldn’t have kids, they agreed on adopting, but Eleanor, being the kind person she is wanted to make sure she could impact someone else’s life. So, she donated her eggs. 

When they met at the train station, Harry cried because Eleanor looked so much like Delilah, or the other way around.  
Together, they drove to the hospital for the simple swab of the cheek that could determine the fate of their daughter’s life.  
But Eleanor wasn’t a match.   
Her kids adopted and Eleanor had no siblings, her father had passed away and her mother was in absolutely no physical condition to donate a large amount of her bone marrow.  
*****  
So that was it. Delilah had no matches. There would be no bone marrow transplant. There would be no magical surgery that cured her. There was nothing else to do. She would continue to do chemo and radiation but her chances of her recovery were so far under 1% Louis didn’t even want to hear the exact number.  
****  
By the end of the month, Dr. Cooper was asking to speak with the Tomlinson-Styles husbands again. In this meeting he would deliver no good news. Not one tid-bit of good information was discussed. Delilah was dying, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. There were no longer enough platelets in her blood, not enough red blood cells. Harry could see the swollen lymph nodes in her neck when he put her to bed and under her arms when he bathed her. She frequently complained of stomach pain; her liver’s way of telling her body that it was sick. Her kidneys were failing as well; she couldn’t pee when she needed to but wet the bed every night. She bruised to the touch; she was constantly in pain, never hungry and losing weight quickly. At 102 cm tall, she should have been anywhere from 15-20 kg, but she slipped down to a dangerous 12.7 kg. Her collarbones and hipbones jutted out and her cheeks hollowed. But the most painful part for Harry and Louis was the most painful part for Delilah—the tumor in her shoulder. It stuck out like half a golf ball on a good day but swelled to the size of a softball on bad days.   
That night while showing Louis a picture she drew of them, she got a little paper cut on her finger, and it bled for almost an hour.  
Delilah’s condition worsened so rapidly that doctors couldn’t get an accurate prognosis. Her death sentence went from being six months away to six weeks to six days. 

It seemed that the pivotal moment when everything really went downhill occurred on Delilah’s sixth birthday. Harry and Louis woke her up with breakfast in bed, knowing that she was too weak to even stand. Her room was decorated with pink balloons and streamers and a big pink Barbie car sat next to her bed that she would never even sit in. Delilah opened her eyes but she never really woke up on that foggy September morning. There would be not one more time in her life that she could fully take in her surroundings or communicate in the slightest.   
A case worker and a hospice nurse showed up the next morning.   
The case worker came to tell them that by law they had to tell Delilah she was dying. Even though it did not matter because Delilah would not even understand, Louis still shouted and screamed at the salty woman who had no sympathy whatsoever.   
The hospice nurse came to take Delilah out of her silent misery. She loaded her up on painkillers and sedatives, assuring the “most comfortable vacation a little girl had ever experienced.”   
The next morning Louis Tomlinson, legal Guardian of Delilah Anne Tomlinson-Styles, signed the Do Not Resuscitate papers, signaling that after Delilah passed, nobody would do anything about it.   
And that moment came five days after Delilah turned six years old: September 24, 2025.  
She passed away in Harry’s embrace, with Louis as physically close as he could get, holding her hand.   
The three were in the back garden, sitting on their Adirondack swing. Just as the sun dipped below the horizon, Delilah’s uneven breaths stopped, and in that moment, and for every moment of every day of every month of every year of the rest of their lives, Louis and Harry would have given anything to trade places with their precious Delilah Anne.

fin.


End file.
